I Witnessed and Lived Through (Erzurum 1917-1918) Lt Col Tverdohlebof

8/3/2019 I Witnessed and Lived Through (Erzurum 1917-1918) Lt Col Tverdohlebof

1/107

Editor

Dr. . Alb. Ahmet TETK

Translation from Russian: . Bnb. Erturul BOSTANCI

Translation into English: Uzm. Y. Serdar DEMRTA

Document Classification

Uzm. Nuri BAYRAK

Document Restoration

Trkn YILMAZ

Document Scanning

Uzm. Erol SESGR

Data ProcessingNuray ALIKAN

I W ITNESSED and LIVED THROUGH

(Erzurum 1917-1918)

Lt. Col. TVERDOHLEBOF

T.C.GENELKURMAY BAKANLII

ANKARA

ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND THE FACSIMILE EDITION OF THE RUSSIAN ORIGINALS

2007


2/107

PRESENTATION

One of the methods used in learning and enlightening of the historical truthswith all their due aspects is the studying of the testimonies of the witnesses.

At this point the testimonies of the first hand eye-witnesses becomeextremely important.

The sources of reference used in studying the events that took place on the

Eastern Front, during the First World War, are the archive documents. Theimportance of the testimonies of the eye-witnesses in revealing the trueaspects of the Armenian atrocities can never be denied. The document-publication series Armenian Activities in the Archive Documents 1914-1918,published by the Turkish General Staff Directorate of Military History andStrategic Studies, also includes documents revealing the observations of thefirst hand witnesses.

One of the first-hand witnesses of the events that took place at the EasternFront happens to be Lieutenant Colonel Tverdohlebov, the RussianCommander of the 2nd Armenian-Russian Fortress Artillery Regiment.Lieutenant Colonel Tverdohlebovs personal documents presented in thisbook reveal the Armenian terror activities he himself witnessed and lived

through. The documents embracing Lieutenant Colonel Tverdohlebovs firsthand experiences of Armenian atrocities realized in and around Erzurum andErzincan, between the last months of 1917 and the first months of 1918,serve as a witness to world history.

While Lieutenant Colonel Tverdohlebovs original handwritings, found at the Archives of the Turkish General Staff Directorate of Military History andStrategic Studies, are being submitted to the attention of the world publicopinion and to the use of the academia, in Turkish, English, and Frenchlanguages, together with the originals in Russian, in a single volume, theextend the Armenian terror reached is revealed with all its nakedness.

The extend the Armenian atrocities reached was more than enough for a

Russian officer to bear, who in fact was fighting against the Turks togetherwith the Armenians. Lieutenant Colonel Tverdohlebov wrote, in his diary, hiswords of deep grief for not having been able to stop the Armenian violencedespite all the power he had.

We now would like to inquire: Those of you who talk about the Armeniangenocide, what say you to these documents?

With all our due respect.

Eyp KAPTANLieutenant GeneralChief of ATASE


3/107

I WITNESSED and LIVED THROUGH

(Erzurum 1917-1918)

Lt.Col. TVERDOHLEBOV


4/107

47

Notes pertaining to the Armenians attitude towards the Turks livingin Erzurum and in the settlements nearby, between the outbreak ofthe Russian Revolution and the delivering of Erzurum by the TurkishForces on March 12, 1918.

These notes are appended to the Notes on the State of the Second

Russian Artillery Regiment. These notes are prepared separately toserve as an individual document.


5/107

48

The Turkish-Armenian enmity that is known by the European and theRussian public opinion has reached its peak with the eventsexperienced during the First World War.

Armenians aversion to the Turks is a renowned fact throughout theages. Armenians have always been successful in presentingthemselves as a nation subjected to heavy torture, and oppression bythe uncivilized bigoted Turks.

The Russians who had close relations with the Armenians to a certainextent have developed different views on their level of civilization. Armenians having considerably vile, surprising, and rapaciouscharacter can only live off on others. However, the Russian peasantshave different judgments on them. I heard the Russian soldierssaying, Turks have only treated them roughly, but did not kill them.They should have killed them to the last man!

The Armenian troops among the Russian soldiers have always beenregarded as the most inferior. They have always preferred working inthe rear echelons rather than fighting at the fronts. The increases inthe desertion of the Armenians and in their wounding themselves are

all definite proofs of the idea developed.


6/107

49

The things I personally witnessed and heard during the two monthsthat passed until the Turkish forces delivering Erzurum are beyond allthe evil one would think of the Armenians.

None of the Armenians were allowed to enter neither in the city norin its environs during the occupation of Erzurum by the Russians in1916. During the office of the Commander of the 1st Corps General

Kaltin, who was the commander of the forces in Erzurum and itsenvirons, no military units having Armenian troops were sent to thisregion.

After the lifting of all the measures, following the Revolution,Armenians attacked Erzurum and its environs in waves.

Synchronous to those attacks, the houses in Erzurum and in thevillages were pillaged and people were killed. The presence of theRussian units and Russians were keeping the Armenians fromcommitting massacres. They were conducting massacres andpillaging in secret and cautiously.

In 1917, the Erzurum Revolutionary Executive Committee, mainlycomposed of the Armenian military personnel, launched a search forconfiscating the firearms the people had. As the searches could nothave been carried out properly, troops of uncontrollable mobgradually started full scale pillaging. The Armenian troops did theirbest to tyrannize and torture people during battles.

One day, as I was riding through one of the streets in Erzurum I sawa group of soldiers, lead by an Armenian, dragging two elderlyTurkish people, both about 70 years old, along the street. AnArmenian soldier was carrying a whip made of wire fencing. Streetswere all covered with ditches and mud.

This mob, composed mainly of the Armenian soldiers, was draggingthese two poor elderly men in mud all over the street. The elderlymen were drenched in mud, and whenever they found an opportunityto stand up they would drag them again and commit all sorts oftorture.

I tried hard to persuade them to behave in a civilized mannertowards those two poor elderly men. The Armenian soldier leadingthe mob, walked over me with his whip made of wire fencing, andshouted, You are backing them are not you? They are killing us, andyou are backing them! The mob started walking over me. At that

time, the Russian soldiers were so out of control that they werebeating, and even murdering the Russian officers. Situation was


7/107

50

getting worse. Upon arriving of a patrol column under the commandof an officer the situation changed. Armenians disappeared all of asudden. The patrol column saved those men and took them to theirhomes without uttering any words of insult.

There was a danger of Armenians rushing into the region, right afterthe withdrawing of the Russian units at their own initiative, and

committing massacres on the Turks until the arrival of the units ofother nations.

The prominent Armenians were guaranteeing that no such thingwould happen again. They were trying to make everybody believethat all the measures for the establishment of neighborly relationsbetween the Armenians and the Turks were taken.

It was believed that peace and order would be established. After theRevolution, the mosques used as dormitories and depots by theRussian forces were all cleaned and evacuated. A joint police forcewas set up with the inclusion of the Turks and Armenians. Armenians

were loudly advocating the setting up of Martial Courts and practicingof capital punishment for those who committed massacres andpillaging.

It was soon discovered that all were nothing but wiles and traps.Turks who were taken into this police force started abandoning theirplaces immediately. Because, the Turkish night patrols started todisappear all of a sudden and nothing was heard of them ever. Eventhe Turks who were taken out of the city to work were not comingback. The members of the Martial Courts established did not try orpunish any of the criminals as they feared to be sentenced to capitalpunishment.

The number of the massacres and pillaging started to increasesteeply. One night, at the end of January according to old calendar inother words at t the beginning of February; Armenian gangsmurdered Hac Bekir Effendi, one of the most prominent people inErzurum, at his home. The Commander-in-Chief Odichelitz1 orderedthe unit commanders the finding of the murderer within 3 days.

The Commander-in-Chief talked at the commanders of the Armenianunits condemning them, in its most general terms, about thedisgraceful deeds of their troops. He also said that he was extremelyoffended by the pillaging and the brutal force exerted on the people.

1 Georgian origin Commander of the Russian Caucasian Army.


8/107

51

He voiced his anger about the Turkish people, who were taken outfrom their homes under the pretext of having them work on theroads, most of whom were somehow kept from returning. Hereiterated his ideas saying if the Armenians are really the owners ofthe occupied Armenian territory, they ought to display their honestyand the level of their moral values as a nation, thinking of the honor

of the Armenian nation; and that they ought to act within frame workof the law; and do everything possible to curb all the barbarousnessand brutality committed by the mob. He pointed out that theintellectuals were obliged to do it. Moreover, he said, at a time whenthe handing of the occupied region over to the Armenians was notyet decided at a peace conference, and at a time when the FirstWorld War had not come to an end, the Armenians ought to obey therules of the law much more carefully.

The Armenian commanders of the Armenian units, and therepresentatives of the troops declared that it was not appropriate tolibel the name of the Armenian nation by just equating them with a

couple of murderous gang members; that some of the desertersmight have wanted to take revenge on the past deeds of the Turks;that the Armenian intellectuals were doing their best to curb thoseevents; and finally that they were thinking of taking decisivemeasures and implement those measures.

Soon I heard that the Armenians were massacring the Turkish peoplein Erzincan. I heard all the details of the massacres directly from myCommander-in-Chief Odichelitz in person.

The event happened as follows. The massacres were organized by adoctor and a contractor. In other words it was not conducted by one

of the gang members. I cannot write the names of those two Armenians as I do not remember their last names. More than 800unarmed innocent Turks were massacred. Only an Armenian waskilled while the massacred were trying to defend themselves. Theyslaughtered the people as if they were sheep. They had the peoplewhom they sentenced to death dig large ditches. They took thepeople to edges of those ditches in groups and after havingbutchered them like beasts they dumped them into those ditches.One of the Armenians was counting the corpses thrown into ditchesand upon his saying, Is there only 80 people? It can take 10 more!Slaughter another 10! disdainfully ten more people were slaughtered,thrown into the ditch and the corpses were covered with earth.


9/107

52

This Armenian contractor is said to have ordered the taking outinnocent Turks from a building one by one. And he, just for fun,chopped the heads of some 80 people one by one as they werecoming out of the door.

The deserter Armenians who were equipped with the most modernweapons started to retreat towards Erzurum after the Erzincan

massacres. The Russian artillery officers, who were to protect thelogistics lines from the kurdish attacks, were forced to retreat withtheir guns.

In one of those lines a necessity of placing a unit for a probable clashoccurred. The Armenians, who were discomforted with the orders,set the Russian officers houses a fire while they were sleeping,Russian officers barely managed to get out. Most of their war gearswere burned into ashes.

The Armenian mobs retreating from Erzincan to Erzurumexterminated all the Muslim villagers they met on their way. The

artillery guns that were being withdrawn from the logistics supportlines were being transferred on the covered wagons. The wagonswere under the care of the hired, civilian and unarmed kurds. As theconvoy came closer to Erzurum, the Armenian deserters and thetroops started to kill those kurds at the places where they stopped fora rest. They realized their evil deeds whenever the Russian officersentered their rooms. Whenever the Russian officers came out of theirrooms on hearing the clamors, and tried to save the kurds, the armedmob walked over, and threatened them with the same end.

Those massacres were carried out in the most repulsive manner. Forexample, at a meeting held by the artillery officers at the Erzurum

Garrison, Lieutenant Mzivani narrated an incident he witnessed: an Armenian soldier approached a kurd who was dying in agony,running, and tried to push the stick in his hand into his mouth. As hecould not manage to push the stick into his mouth that was tightlyclosed, he took the dying mans clothes off, and started to kick hisnaked body with his iron heeled boots.

All of those who could not manage to flee from Ilca2 weremassacred. The Army Commander [General Odichelitz] said he sawlots of corpses belonging to children whose throats were butcheredwith blunt knives, and bodies cut into thin and long strips.

2 Ilca district affiliated to Erzurum.


10/107

53

Lieutenant Colonel Gryaznof, who went to Ilca three weeks after themassacres, on his return on February 26 told me about a scene he sawthere: the corpses are lying along the village roads in the open air. Allthe Armenians going in the front were spitting on the corpses andcursing at them. A mosque yard about 12-15 square sagenes [an arearoughly equal to 55-70 square meters] was covered with the corpses

of the senior Turkish citizens as well as of men, women, and childrenthat formed a pile reaching 1.5 meters in height. The traces of vileassaults were observed on the womens corpses. Rifle cartridges werepushed into the genital organs of most of the women.

Lieutenant Colonel Gryaznov said he had called two Armenian girls,who were following a series of courses, to the mosque. They wereworking as telephone operators at the detachment. He told them towitness what the Armenians had accomplished there. Lt.Col.Gryaznov found their joyous laughter bizarre.

Lieutenant Colonel reproved them severely expressing his anger andindignation in fury. He asked, How could the well-bred and well-

educated Armenian girls laugh and exhibit joyous behavior at thesight of such an event? He said, This is an enough proof for Armenians, even their womens, being more contemptible than thewildest animals. This is even much more than an officer, who isshaken by this sight, and who has seen many battles and terribleevents, can bear! The Armenian girls replied him saying that theylaughed as a result of nervous breakdown.

A contractor working at the Alaca3 Logistics Support Command, toldus about a despicable event that took place in Alaca on February 27.The Armenians nailed a Turkish woman upon a wall alive; took herheart out and placed it on her head.

The first full scale massacre in Erzurum started on February 7. As it isnow claimed, the soldiers of the artillery regiment gathered some 270Turks from the streets by force. They captured them and locked themup in the baths in the barracks displaying their true intentions. Imanaged to save only 100 of them. I have just learned that the otherswere released by the soldiers after their learning about my arrival.Under the light of the testimonies of the rescued, this vile attempt wasrealized by the Armenian Reserve Officer Karagadayev, who wastemporarily appointed to the artillery regiment from the infantry units.I still could not have determined his role in this event clearly.

3 A village affiliated to Ilca district of Erzurum.


11/107

54

Several other Turkish people were killed in the streets that day.

Several Armenians, forming an execution squad, shot more than 10unarmed civilian Muslims at the railroad station on February 12. Thisgang threatened to kill the officers who tried to save those Muslims.

Meanwhile, I ordered the arresting of an Armenian who had murdereda Turkish person for no reason at all. The General Commander of theCaucasus Army had already given his permission for the founding of aCourt Martial in Erzurum in line with the previous stipulations prevailingbefore the Revolution, with an authority give death penalty.

When one of the Armenian officers told this arrested Armenian that hewas going to be hanged he started to shout, Where on earth haveyou seen an Armenian hanged for killing a Turk? offended.

Armenians started to set the all the Turkish markets in Erzurum afire. Ilearned that all the Muslim villagers of Tepeky4 where CombatantArtillery Regiment was situated were massacred, regardless of theirage and gender by unidentified members of a gang on February 17.

I informed Antranik5 who came to Erzurum the same day. He orderedthe finding of the murderers. I do not know what came out of it.

4 A village affiliated to Erzurum.5 Antranik Ozanyan, was born in 1865, ebinkarahisar. He took part in theinsurgence of 1885 incited in ebinkarahisar. He later went to Istanbul andestablished contact with the Daschnaks, he fled to Batumi after killing a Turkish chiefof police. On May 16, 1895 he went to Sasun together with his 40 men, armed, and joined Armenian Serops gang, and replaced him on his death. He massacrednumerous Muslims in Sasun and its environs in two years. He even attacked theArmenian villages and tortured the Armenians by various means. He received arms

and ammunition support from the Russians. He went to Bulgaria in 1906, and hemassacred Muslims in Edirne, Kean, Malkara, and in Tekirda together with his gangduring the Balkan War. When the Armenian voluntary regiments in the Caucasusjoined the First World War as the forward forces of the Russian army, the Armeniansin Selmas and its environs joined the Russian forces under his leadership. Antranik,took over the office of Provost Marshall from Colonel Morel when he came toErzurum on March 2, 1918, dressed in Russian generals uniform. After havingrealized great damage and massacres he fled to Caucasus. He organized theArmenians in Karabagh, Zengezur and its environs against the Turks. After the signingof the Modhros Armistice, he dissolved his gang and went to Paris on May 15, 1919.He sought support in London, Paris, and New York for the establishment of a greaterArmenia on the Turkish soil. By putting the blame of the massacres he committed onthe Turks, he propagandized that the Turks killed the Armenians. Antranik died in theUnited States in 1927. He was indulged in farming until his death. As his corpse was

not welcomed to Erivan in the USSR, he was buried to Paris.Haluk SELVI; Anadoludan Kafkasyaya Bir Ermeni ete Reisi: Antranik Ozanyan[From Anatolia to the Caucasus, An Armenian Gang Leader: Antranik Ozanyan] in


12/107

55

Antranik had promised Russian artillery officers that he would set thepublic order, and order of law. But neither his promises nor thepromises of Dr. Zavriyev, who was sent by the Southern CaucasianGovernment just to set the public order, did not prove anything butvain words.

The chaos in the city decreased. Silence prevailed in the villages

where the inhabitants disappeared. When the Turkish forces startedto march over to Ilca, the Armenians started to arrest the Muslims inthe town again. The arrests intensified a great deal during February25-26.

The Armenians carried out massacres by dodging the Russian officersin the evening of February 26, in Erzurum. They retreated with thefear of approaching Turkish army.

The number of the massacred Muslims reached 3.000 that night. Tobe more explicit, the massacres were not fortuitous events butpremeditated. They were all committed in accordance with a plan

devised that was first put into practice by arrests. There was no time,they had such a small force; they could not even keep their positionfrom an enemy force of 1.500 men and 2 artillery guns. They lost toomany lives.

The prominent Armenians could have stopped the massacres. Theresponsibility of those massacres lived through cannot be put on thegangs solely. As far as I observed recently the Armenians from thelower end of the social strata were strongly adhered to theintellectuals of the community, and especially to the orders issued bysome of them.

I believe it will be sufficient enough to confess that we did not haveany power to fight decisively against the banditry and misbehaviorright from the early days. Although the command echelons of myregiment were mostly composed of the Russian officers, the troopswere mostly composed of the Armenian soldiers.

Sekizinci Asker Tarih Semineri Bildirileri [Proceedings of the 8 th Military HistorySeminar]. XIX. ve XX. Yzyllarda Trkiye ve Kafkaslar. Vol: I. Ankara: Gnkur. ATASEBk.l Yaynlar, 2003. pp. 459-473.


13/107

56

Moreover, during the night of the massacres none of the kurdishstablemen was killed in the yard where the wagon wheels were kept;although there was only one officer on guard. At least the officersunder my command have reported to me as such. Kurds were totallyunarmed there. A couple of meters away there were some 40Armenian soldiers fully armed.

I do not want to go further and say, nor can I claim that all theprominent Armenians were guilty. No. I saw conscientious peopleasserting that pursuing of such policies was wrong; that such politicswas nothing but vileness. Those Armenians, rebelled against theswinish instincts of their own people, and they even fought againstthem. There were hardly any of those people among the Armenians.They were being obliterated by the majority on the charges oftreason against the Armenian cause. Other Armenians were showingthemselves as the warriors of truth and goodness in the presence ofthe others, and thus were trying hard to conceal the reality of theirbeing crossbred with the kurds by putting mask of hypocrisy;

considering themselves related to the issue used to retort Russianreproaches saying, You are Russians! You can never understand theArmenian nations ideals! Those people did not want to understand,and could not understand that the nobility of the soul was anuntouched diamond and it would stay a diamond no matter what thecircumstances were.

Against the Russian reproaches and indignation for them on theirmassacring the Turks there was another group claiming How do youknow that the Turks did not do all this to libel the Armenians? Cannot it be a provocation?

The events proved the forces affecting the intellectual Armenians. Noone can deny the events happened. Armenians sow wind, but theyhave forgotten that one who sow wind would reap the whirlwind!

Deputy Commander of the Fortified Artillery Post at Deveboynu,Erzurum

Commander of the 2nd Armenian-Russian Fortress Artillery RegimentPrisoner of War

Lt.Col. Tverdohlebov

April 16/29, 1918

Erzurum


14/107

57

Notes pertaining to the period extending from the organization of the

2nd Fortress Artillery Regiment in Erzurum to the delivering ofErzurum by the Turkish Forces on March 12, 1918


15/107

58

In mid-December 1917, the Russian Caucasus Army withdrew fromthe front at its own discretion; without the permission of the ArmyCommand or of the Supreme Command.

The Erzurum Fortress Artillery Regiment retreated together with thearmy. Only 40 officers form the Fortress Artillery Regiment, and theadministrative staff at the Deveboynu6 Fortified Area Commandremained.

These officers remained there to take care of the guns that weredeserted by the soldiers. Other officers had also left. There weremore than 400 guns at the fortified positions. There were no forcesto pull the guns from the region. Guns had to be left in theirpositions. The officers dominated by the ideal of mission and honorremained with the guns. They were waiting for the arrival of newtroops or for the orders to be issued by the Supreme Command.

The 2nd Erzurum Fortress Artillery Regiment was set up with theremaining officers of the 1st Regiment.

6 A passage between the Erzurum and Pasinler plateaus.


16/107

59

Following the withdrawal of the army, an Armenian revolutionaryorganization was established in Erzurum. They named themselves asthe Armenian Military Unit. Some 400 Armenians, all of whom werenovices, were given to the command of the 2nd Erzurum FortressArtillery Regiment. Some of them deserted in no time. The remainingwas barely sufficient for keeping guard of the guns in the positions or

to be used as sentinels.An internal fighting had already begun in the Northern Caucasus justbefore the withdrawal of the army from the front. A government wasfounded in the Southern Caucasus. This provisional governmentassumed the name of Southern Caucasus Commissariat7.

The Commissariat declared that they were not an independent entity,that they took up the control from the Russian governmenttemporarily until the establishment of a new central government, andthat the Southern Caucasus shall continue to live as an indispensablepart of Russia.

The Southern Caucasus Commissariat declared the formation of anew army to replace the army that withdrew with a circular onDecember 18, 1917. This new army was to embrace Russian,Georgian, Armenian, Muslim corps; and the small units were to becomposed of small tribes like Romaics, Assyrians, Osetins8.

Until the clarification of the command of the artillery units, theErzurum and Deveboynu Fortified Region Artilleries maintained theirmultinational command. The command echelon was thoroughlycomposed of the Russian officers whereas the troops were composed

7 Following the Russian Revolution, all the parties, associations, military committees,

army commanders in Tbilisi and Southern Caucasus convened and declared aprovisional government on October 11, 1917. With the inclusion of the Georgians,Azerbaijanis, and Armenians they found the Southern Caucasus Commissariat, whichhad a federal government structure.

zzet ZTOPRAK. Maveray Kafkas Hkmeti [Regional Government of theCaucasus]. Sekizinci Askeri Tarih Semineri Bildirileri I [Proceedings of the EighthMilitary History Symposium I]. Ankara: Genelkurmay Basmevi, 2003, p. 127.8 Osetians are believed to be the last generation of the historical Alan peoples livingin the Northern Caucasus. The Osetians call themselves Eron (some call themselvesGron). Their language is said to be very close to the Polowi, an ancient IranianDialect. Today, the Osetins are living in two autonomous administrations in NorthernOsetia and Southern Osetia located on the either side of the Caucasus MountainRange. Ottoman State received a wave of Osetian migration as of 1864. Today they

are living around Mu and Sar

kam

.Hayri ERSOY, Aysu KAMACI. erkes Tarihi [History of the Circassians], 3. Ed.stanbul: Tmzamanlar Yaynclk, 1994, p. 128-129.


17/107

60

of the Armenians. Nobody regarded those artillery units as Armenianunits for the command echelons and the artillery regimentcommander were Russian. None of the orders issued stated thatthose artillery units were Armenian. Those units continued keep theirformer Russian names. We all served in those units affiliated to theRussian artillery forces. We received our salaries from the Russian

treasury; and worked under the command of the Russian ArmyCommander, and the Russian Commander-in-Chief. There was aRussian Church and a Russian priest in the regiment. There was noArmenian church.

Two months had passed after the withdrawal of the Russian army.There were no new reinforcement troops coming. There were notroops coming from the other nations. Discipline could not have beenmaintained in the regiment. The soldiers were continuously desertingthe army, and looting civilians, threatening the officers, performingdisobedience openly.

Colonel Torkom, whom I heard was a Bulgarian Armenian, wasappointed to the Central Command of Erzurum.

In mid-January, several Armenian soldiers from the infantry units,massacred one of the notable people in Erzurum at his home, andpillaged his house. I do not remember the name of the massacredperson.

The Supreme Commander Odichelitz summoned all the unitcommanders, and ordered the finding of the murderer within threedays time forcefully. He especially told the Armenian officers thatsuch behavior of the Armenian troops caused the libeling of all theArmenians and said that the Armenian peoples honor demanded the

finding of the murderers. In his speech he also added the necessityof putting a decisive end to the atrocities and the violation committedby the Armenians on the townspeople. He, moreover, said, he wouldhave to give firearms to the Muslim people in the town to protectthemselves.

Colonel Torkom, in an offended and reproachful manner said that theArmenian people would never do such a thing; that the atrocities andthe pillaging committed by a couple of bandits could not be ascribedto the whole Armenian nation; that all those should not serve thelibeling of a nation.


18/107

61

The unit commanders asked for the establishing of the Martial Courtsfor the practicing of the Penal Code, and for giving death penalty fromthe Supreme Commander. The Supreme Commander said he was notauthorized to put the death penalty into practice at his discretion, butthat he had already applied for the enforcement of the discipline law. Ido not know whether the murderers were found or not.

At the end of January, if I am not mistaking on the 25th, ColonelTorkom held a prayer ceremony, and a military parade containing 21salute shots fired from the guns, in Erzurum. He explained, he did itout of a necessity to improve the morale of the garrison, and to showthe townspeople the power of the garrison. During the parade, whereGeneral Odichelitz was present, Colonel Torkom read a speech, whichnone of us understood, in Armenian from the notes he was holding.

We later learned that he declared the establishment of theautonomous state of Armenia openly; and declared himself as theadministrative tsar of this autonomous state. General Odichelitz uponlearning all about it expelled Colonel Torkom from Erzurum.

We understood that the government would never allow theestablishment of a free Armenian state. I used to hear frequently, thatthe authorities at the Army Command Headquarters reproached theArmenian administrators saying none of the equipment, which in factbelonged to the Russian army, taken from the depots, and from thefronts by the Armenians were handed over to the Armenians, that theequipment were given to their control temporarily; that they wereentrusted to them for protection until the coming of the new troops.

Meanwhile, the Armenians had slaughtered the unarmed and innocentcivilian Turks in Erzincan. We heard that the Armenians were fleeing

towards Erzurum as the Ottoman units were approaching the region. According to the information the General Headquarters received andthe according to the testimonies of the Russian officers coming fromErzincan the Armenians had slaughtered some 800 Turks. Only anArmenian was killed as a result of self-defense. We later learned thatthe desperate unarmed Turks in Ilca village, near Erzurum, were alsoslaughtered.

On February 7, 1918, in the afternoon, the militias and soldiersgathering men in the streets of Erzurum in masses and sending themto an unknown destination in groups attracted my attention. When Iinquired, they said they were sending them to the railway station tosweep the snow on the rail tracks.


19/107

62

Towards 15:00 in the afternoon, one of the Russian officers Lieutenant Lipskiy reported to me on the phone that several Armenians caught six Turkish men in the streets, and havinginterrogated them in a corner in the courtyard they started to beatthem, and the beating would likely to end in murder. Lieutenant saidthat he could not help those Turks. Because the Armenian soldier

threatened him with fire arms for he attempted to save those Turks.An Armenian officer, there, refused to stop those soldiers.

Taking three Russian officers, nearby, I ran to the barracks to savethose desperate Turks.

On my way, Lieutenant Lipskiy and the Mayor of Erzurum Stavrovskiyintercepted me saying that they were looking for a Turkish friend oftheirs among the Turks caught by the Armenians.

They said the soldiers resisted to their entrance in the barrackscourtyard. We moved a little further. When we approached thebarracks, we saw some 12 Turks running away through the courtyard

door in fear, struck with terror. We managed to stop only one ofthem, but we could not talk to him as we did not have a translatorthere. Without meeting any obstacles I entered the courtyard. I toldthem to take me to the place where they took the innocent peoplewhom they had gathered in the streets. They said there was nobodyfrom the public in the barracks. I began to search the barracks. Ifound 70 Turks locked up in the barrack baths in fear and struck withterror. I immediately launched an investigation. Arresting the sixsoldiers who were declared to be the instigators, I set all the arrestedTurks free.

During the investigation I learned that an Armenian, whose name Icould not learn, shot an innocent, sick old man standing on the roofof one of the houses around with a rifle on the same day.

Unfortunately, I lost the list, on which the names of the Turks I savedwere written, and the official documents of the Artillery Command Ihad during the Turkish units delivering Erzurum from occupation onMarch 12. This event may be brought to daylight by questioning ofthe Turks who were kept there under pressure. I still meet people inthe streets who pronounce their sincere words of gratitude for savingtheir lives. The translator Ali Bey Pepenov, scrivener at the office ofthe Mayor of Erzurum, Stavrofskiy, knows them well. He himself had

written the minutes of the investigations and drawn the list.


20/107

63

At the end of the investigations it was found out that the ArmenianInfantry Reserve Officer Karagadayev, who was appointed to theorders of the Artillery Regiment, was the instigator of the events.According to the testimonies of the released Turks, Karagadayev, wasthe ringleader of the pillaging, and some of the properties found wereseized by the soldiers. Karagadayev was arrested along with the

others, and kept in prison until his trial.Late in the afternoon everything about the events was told to theSupreme Commander at the presence of the regional inspector Glotovand his aid Stavrovskiy. Armenians have killed several people here andthere, and set the Turkish bazaar aflame on the same day.

In those days we used to hear about the massacring of the unarmedcivilian Turks by the Armenians in and around Erzurum one by one. Ihad an Armenian arrested who had massacred a Turkish person nearTafta9 fortifications, and turned him over to the Provost Marshallpersonally.

Turkish people were talking about the Turks who were taken away towork elsewhere, most of whom did not come back. The publicadministration informed the General Headquarters about thesecomplaints.

A day after my rescuing the Turkish people who were taken underarrest forcibly, we, the high ranking artillery officers ArtilleryCommander, I, Director of the Artillery Command MobilizationDepartment submitted a report to General Odichelitz requestingpermission for all the artillery personnel at the Erzurum FortifiedRegion to leave Erzurum. We were of no use as a combatant unit. Wewere not needed. We were unable to do anything to stop the

Armenian massacres. We never did want the atrocities committed bythe Armenians veiled by our names.

Commander-in-Chief explained us that he had received a telegrammessage from the Commander of the Ottoman Army, Vehip Pasha10,

9 A village, today Gkeyama, affiliated to the Dumlu subdistrict of Erzurum.10 Vehip (Kai) was born in 1877, Khani, Crete. He was graduated from the MilitaryAcademy in 1987 and from the Staff Officers College in 1900. He was first appointedto Yemen, from where he was sent to the orders of Diyarbakr Division. In 1907 hewas appointed to the 4th Army Headquarters in Erzincan. In 1909, he was firstappointed to the Ministry of Defense, then to the War Academy and to the KuleliMilitary High School as the Commander of the Military Schools. He took part in the

Balkan War as Khani Fortified Region Commander; at the Hijaz Front as theCommander of the 22nd Hijaz Division. He was appointed as the Governor andGovernor of Hijaz. He served at the anakkale Front as Southern Group Commander.


21/107

64

where he declared that he had ordered his troops to deliver Erzincanfrom occupation, and to continue their forward movement, in linewith the stipulations of the Law of War, until the establishing of animmediate contact with the Russian forces; and that he informed himabout the atrocities committed by the Armenians on Turks living inthe region.

As a consequence of the forward movement of the Ottoman Army,the Southern Caucasus Commissariat made a peace proposal toTurkiye.

The reply they received from the Ottoman Army Command statedthat the peace proposal was highly welcomed, and that the proposalmade by the Southern Caucasus Commissariat was forwarded to thegovernment for solution.

Upon our request Army Commander communicated with thePresident of the Commissariat Mr. Gegechkori, and the SupremeCommander General Lebedinskiy through telegram. In the reply

received it was said that Dr. Zavriyevand Antranik were sent toErzurum by the Armenian National Assembly to establish order in thecity; that an ultimatum demanding the stopping of the Armenianatrocities had been given to the Armenian National Assembly as itwas capable of meeting the request; that the final orders would beissued after the receiving of the Turkish Governments considerationof the peace proposal; that we should continue staying in Erzurumuntil then. Finally it was stated that: I would like to express mydeepest gratitude to your honor and to your officers for the heroicstance displayed. We are of the full conviction that you and your staffshall continue to remain in your position heroically, which is especially

important at a time when Russia is threatened by the catastrophiccircumstances.

The Army Commander issued an order pertaining to this issue. Heemphasized we should remain in our positions as sentinels; and thathe, with his all capacity would not allow any loss of officers for noapparent reason.

He was the Commander of the 3rd Army at the Eastern Front from February 1916 toJune 1918. From June 9 1918 to September 9 1918 he served as the Eastern ArmiesGroup Commander. He retired from the army on October 18, 1918. He deceased onJune 13, 1940.

Harp Akademileri Komutanl. Trk Harp Tarihi Derslerinde Ad Geen Komutanlar[Commanders Whose Names are Mentioned in the Turkish History of War Courses].stanbul: Harp Akademileri Komutanl Yay., 1983, p. 315-322.


22/107

65

We stayed in Erzurum as a result of this order, and for the interestsof Russia. It was just then, when the Ottoman State found the peaceproposal made by the Southern Caucasus Commissariat appropriate,and the peace talks was scheduled to start in Trabzon as of February17, 191811.

The Army Commander in his speech declared that we were to stay in

Erzurum until the signing of the peace treaty; that following thesigning of the peace treaty all the guns and equipment were either tobe transported to Russia or left to the Turkish forces; that we were toleave if the terms of the treaty required; that we were to leaveErzurum after having destroyed all the guns if the treaty is would notbe signed; that the Army Commander had no intention of engaging ina battle in the environs of Erzurum; and explained that afterobserving of the first signs of a general attack to be launched by theTurkish units, he would notify us within 7 days.

Briefly, until the finding of a definite solution for the staying of theofficers in Erzurum, a necessity of taking measures against thepossible kurdish attacks on Erzurum was born. Because, the TurkishGovernment had officially informed us, during the peace talks, thatthe kurds were not obeying the orders given but were acting at theirown will.

To this end, at the end of January, upon the orders of the ArmyCommander, artillery guns were transferred to the logistics supportunits along the Erzincan-Erzurum line to drive the kurds who startedattacking the depots to provide food back.

Several guns were deployed along the logistics support lines under thesupervision of officers. Those guns were brought back by the units that

were mainly composed of the Armenians withdrawing from Erzincan.Towards February 10, Army Commander ordered the positioning twoguns on each of the Bykkiremitli and Surp Nishan emplacementsover looking the Trabzonkap. Later, more guns were positioned on thevarious parts of the town. It was also evaluated that the positioning ofguns between the Karskap and Harputkap emplacements would beappropriate to prevent the possible kurdish raids to come from thedirection of Palandken12.

11 Trabzon peace talks started in March 14, 1918. Kemal ARI. Birinci Dnya Sava

Kronolojisi [Chronology of the First World War]. Ankara: Genelkurmay ATASEBakanl Yay., 1997, p. 336.12 A sub-district affiliated to Erzurum.


23/107

66

Those guns were placed solely to retaliate the kurdish raids. Gunswere so openly positioned that they were unable to fight against anyorderly unit supported by artillery units. They would easily bedestroyed at the first two or three shots. However, it was the onlypossible way to repulse the kurdish attacks successfully.

In mid-February, the breeches, telescopic sights and quadrant sights

of the guns positioned in distant places were all taken to the centraldepots. Only the telescopic sights of the guns positioned near weretaken out; now it was the time for dismantling their breeches. Thesame order was issued for the guns positioned in PalandkenMountain; but the task could not have been realized thoroughly yet.Only the telescopic sights of the guns to be used against the kurdswere left.

The Ottoman armys attack was not expected to start soon. It wasthought that the morale of the Ottoman units was low and that theywere not capable of making any maneuvers before the summer.

On February 12, two Russian officers, who witnessed the shooting of10 or 12 Turks by the Armenian gangs armed to the teeth out in theopen near the train station, tried to save those people, but the Armenians threatened the officers with weapons and pushed themaway. None of the gang members was taken under arrest in relationto this event.

On February 13, the Army Commander declared Martial Law. Heordered the setting up of the Court Martial, and the practicing of thedeath penalty in line with the stipulations of the former law,preceding the revolution. Colonel Morel was appointed to theCommand of the Erzurum Fortress and to the chair of the Armenian

Court; and he set off the same day. Brigadier General Gerasimov,Commander of the Fortified Region, left with him to set up a newbase for a possible transfer of the guns. I kept my position and tookover the duty of Commander of the Fortified Region as a deputy.

The majority of Colonel Morels headquarters were composed of theRussian officers. The Chief of Staff of the Regiment was Staff CaptainShneur.

As soon as the Army Commander left, Colonel Morel put on adifferent air. He declared that Erzurum would be kept in hand,defended until the very last moment, and that he would not allow any

of the officers and men who could bear arms leave the city.


24/107

67

The day the Army Commander left, as we were having a meetingwith Col. Morel at his office, I told him that there were officers whowere looking forward to leave. An official present there, Sogomonian,an Armenian, said, in the presence of everybody there, that as amember of the Court Martial he would not let any of the Russianofficers leave; that he would personally shoot all those who would

attempt to leave Erzurum; and that reinforced police stations wereestablished in Kprky13 and Hasankale14 to arrest those who wouldtry to leave without the documents signed by him and bring thembefore the Court Martial.

I then understood that we were caught in a tight trap from which itwas impossible to escape. It was evident that the declaration ofMartial Law and the establishing of the Court Martial were solely forthe Russian officers, not for the ferocious Armenian gangs.

Tyranny and oppression continued in the city as before. The Russianofficers were trying hard to defend the unarmed and desperateTurks. There are lots of incidents where the officers under mycommand used force to save the Turks who were arrested andviolated in the streets by the Armenians. Karayev, LaboratoryDirector, opened fire on an Armenian soldier who stripped naked aTurk out in the open in the day light.

None of the promises made for the hanging those who weremassacring the unarmed innocent people were kept. The CourtMartial established could not function. It was afraid of the threatsposed by the Armenians. Although it was promised by the Armenians,before the Court Martials getting into effect, that the guilty Armenians would be hanged none of the guilty Armenians were

punished. By the way, Armenians were the ones who stronglyadvocated the putting of the Courts Martial into effect in no time.

Turks have always been saying determinedly that an Armenian wouldnever punish another Armenian. A Russian proverb says, Crow,would not scoop another crows eye out. We witnessed the truth ofthis proverb with our own very eyes.

Armed Armenians fled together with their families. The ReserveOfficer Karagadayev, who was in prison, was released without myauthorization. Colonel Morel answered my enquiry on Karagadayevsrelease by saying that the investigation launched proved him not

13 Sub-district affiliated to Pasinler district of Erzurum. Today, obandede.14 Pasinler district of Erzurum.


25/107

68

guilty. None of us was invited to take place in the investigation.Although we were the primary witnesses in the case none of us wascalled in to testify. However, I ordered the taking of our testimoniesat the regiment; I assigned the case to Colonel Aleksadrov. I made aproposal for the removal of the Reserve Officer Karagadayev from hispost and sending him back to the infantry unit to which he was

affiliated earlier.Even the murderer Armenian whom I personally caught on the spotin Tafta was not taken to court at all. Colonel Morel was afraid of theuprising of the Turks in Erzurum.

Antranik came to Erzurum on February 17. Dr. Zavrief, the Vice-Commissioner of the Regions under Occupation, was with him.

As we have never occupied ourselves with the Armenian history orwith the activities, none of us was aware of the fact that Antranikwas a Turkish subject and a ferocious murderer sentenced to capitalpunishment by the Turkish Government. I learned all about those

when I met the Commander of the Ottoman Army on March 7. Antranik was wearing a Russian brigadier general uniform. He wascarrying an order of St. Vladimir of a fourth degree, and a combatantorder of Stanislav of a second degree. He was also carrying a St.Georgievski cross of a second degree. Russian Colonel Zinkevi, thechief of staff, came to Erzurum with him.

A day prior to Antraniks arrival in Erzurum, Colonel Morel announcedthe telegram message he received from Antranik stating that machineguns were placed in Krpky to kill all the cowards fleeing Erzurum.

As soon as Antranik came to Erzurum he took over the Fortress

Command. Colonel Morel entered his command. We remained underthe command of Colonel Morel as before.

The day Antranik came, one of my officers in one of the regionsunder my area of responsibility reported me that the Armeniansmassacred all the unarmed innocent inhabitants of Tepeky,especially, regardless of their age and gender. I informed Antranikabout this massacre immediately at our introduction. In my presence,he ordered the sending of twenty cavalrymen and catching at leastone of the murderers. I do not know what came out of it.

Colonel Torkom reappeared. Two days after Antraniks coming

Armenian Artillery Colonel Doluhanov came to Erzurum. He first said,he was appointed as an Artillery Inspector and he would be mysuperior. Upon my declaration of my authority as a Division


26/107

69

Commander, my not needing any superiors, and my assertion that Iwould gladly submit my resignation at once if he continued to insist;he issued an order saying Colonel Doluhanov was appointed toErzurum Fortress to deal with the affairs of the artillery. He startedsending the orders and the regulations on behalf of Antranik, not inhis name.

Senior Armenian Lieutenant Canbolatyan, who was working as anartillery battery commander in my regiment, was trying to interfere inmy affairs. When he learned about the plans made for thetransferring of the artillery guns, and about the partially brokenelectric motors and projectors he said he would not allow the transfereven of a single gun, and continued Russian officers may or may notstay, but the Armenians will stay no matter what the circumstancesare. They will be in need of these guns.

It was evident that the Armenians, under the disguise of serving theRussian interests, were actually in pursuit of taking all the commandand control into their own hands, and have all the Russian officersexecute their orders.

It gradually came to surface that they were taking steps in pursuit ofdeclaring free Armenian state with the help of the Russian officersrather than working for the Russian interests. They were trying to veiltheir true intentions with all their might. Otherwise, there was apossible threat of majority, or all, of the Russian officers leaving atonce. The Armenians did not have any artillery officers.

The Armenians were afraid of artillery officers leaving their posts.The Deputy Commander of the Caucasus Mountain Artillery BattalionCaptain Plat told me about an incident. He said that the Armenian

administrators, on learning that the Mountain Artillery units were tobe transferred to Sarkam from Erzurum on February 7, arrested theCommander of the Mountain Artillery Supply Battalion on February 5in a hurry; and released the officer upon the orders of the ArmyCommander. Armenians arrested him three times afterwards, andthreatened him saying they would drench Erzurum in blood if theMountain Artillery would ever leave Erzurum. What he implied withdrenching Erzurum in blood, was in fact drenching it with the blood ofthe Russian officers. The arrested were being released upon theinterventions of the Russian officers at the headquarters. The ArmyCommander postponed the withdrawing of the Mountain Artillery.


27/107

70

This incident compelled me to sign reconciliation with the DeputyCommander of the 7th Caucasus Mountain Artillery Battalion.

We agreed to help each other considering the possibility of theircoercing the Russian artillery officers physically in order to have us,or our officers, work for the Armenian cause. This reconciliation wasevidently secret. The material power we had was consisted of the

artillery guns, machine guns, and Russian officers.The Deputy Commander of the Artillery Battalion gathered his officersnear our houses in groups. I had already gathered everybody in theregiment around the Artillery Command located in the Muslim districtof the town, since the formation of the regiment and the entrance ofthe Russian units into Erzurum.

Following Antraniks arrival in Erzurum, a wide spread fear of apossible uprising of the prominent people of the town dominatedColonel Morels headquarters. This fear multiplied everyday.

I received orders from Colonel Morel about three days after Antraniks

coming to town. The orders stated that I should appoint experiencedofficers at the Mecidiye15 fortifications to open artillery fire on theMuslim district of the town to prevent an uprising during the arrestingof the possible leaders. We were ordered to leave the Muslim districtand to settle in the Armenian district of the town.

We, the Russian officers who have been living together with thosepeople for about two years, did not believe in the threat of anuprising. We were laughing at the Armenian cowardice openly.

Artillery officers clearly stated that they would not open artillery fireon the town. They asserted that they were there to fight an enemy

honorably rather than opening fire on the civilian people, women,and children. Under the prevailing circumstances we inferred that theArmenians would demand opening of artillery fire on the town eitherout of fear or out of a certain drive, without any reason at all.

We did not leave the Muslim district. Firstly, it was physicallyimpossible to move out in the given period of time. Secondly, ourmoving out from this part of the town would give the Armenians thechance to commit massacres freely, as it was the case in Erzincan.

15 Mecidiye Fortification over looking the Grcboaz to the north and the VankCreek to the northwest is located on the Topda (2042 m.) to the west ofErzurum.


28/107

71

Thirdly, moving into the Armenian district would mean our falling intothe hands of the Armenians in whom we never had confidence.

The officers at the Mountain Artillery Battalion, who were notaffiliated to the Fortified Region, also refused the Armenian proposalsfor moving. At last the issue was left to the Armenian volition. It isneedless to say that the leaders of a possible rebellion were arrested

without a single sign of an uprising.Colonel Morels possible orders for opening artillery fire on the townagitated the officers, and forced me to hold a meeting with theartillery officers under my command.

We held two meetings, with a days interval. Aside from all theartillery officers, two English officers, who were on a visit to Erzurumfor a few days, Colonel Morel, Staff Captain Zinkevi, Doluhanov,Torkom, Antranik, and Dr. Zavriyev were present at the first meeting.

We invited the English officers to show them the rear echelons of thefront, front headquarters, foreign military missions, the spiritual

condition of the Russian Artillery officers, the relation between theRussian and Armenian officers, and to inform them about themeasures taken to prevent the bloody atrocities committed by the Armenians. These officers were invited on purpose. Because, Ineither had a post office nor a telegram office under my command. Icould never be sure of my telegram messages arriving at theirdestinations. In fact, I was absolutely sure that my telegrams werenever sent.

At the meeting, I explained the current situation and thecircumstances forcing the Russian artillery officers come to Erzurumin detail. I minutely informed all the people present at the meetingabout my personal observations, about the reports I received fromother officers, as well as about the incidents of Armenian defianceand savagery I had heard from other people and Army CommanderGeneral Odichelitz himself.

I concluded my explanations stressing a fact, as follows:

We are Russian Officers. We, the honorable Russianofficers in uniforms, did not stay in Erzurum to cover upthe plunderer Armenians atrocities committed on thepoor people. We stayed here to serve the Russianinterests and in subordination to our superiors. We did not


29/107

72

stay here to serve the Armenian massacres and sheerviolence; but to serve to the Russian cause. We are notintended to libel our names by the nations of the world.We would like to see the ending of the disgraceful Armenian atrocities as long as we stay here. Otherwise,we shall be insisting on our return home as soon as

possible.The events I talked about were proved right by the observations ofthe other officers who had a say at the meeting.

In reply, Antranik stressing the Armenians gratefulness to Russiaclaimed that they were a part of the Great Russian peoples; that theydid not want to separate from them for the time being, but to serveRussia; that the massacres were the result of the enmity that hadbeen continuing for centuries between the Turks and the Armenians;that all the defiance and savagery would be ended decisively; thatthere would be no signs of a probable idea of coercing the civilians ina short time; that he came here to put an end to such deeds; that heif he were not to succeed he himself would leave at once. All the talkswere held with the help of translators.

When he was asked about the Russian officers who wanted to leaveErzurum; he replied saying it would be better for the weak to leavefor the welfare of the cause, and that he would do his best not tokeep them from leaving.

Colonel Zinkevi did his best in trying to convince all the peoplepresent that the Russian cause keeping us here was in fact the sametrue cause that brought him here; and that he fervent follower of thecause.

At the end of the meeting, all the officers declared, prior to taking upsteps on the issue, that they would wait for another seven, or ratherten, days to see how things would develop; and if Antraniks promiseswere met.

This meeting was held on either February 20 or 21. After the meetingColonel Doluhanov told me that he was extremely surprised to seethe hatred and loathsomeness in the Russian officers against theArmenians. He voiced his surprise to the other officers as well.

Antranik issued an order saying that anybody committing murder,may it be Armenian or Muslim, would be punished the same without

any discrimination of nationality. Bulletins and posters, in Turkish,calling the people to open their shops and to work freely without any


30/107

73

fear were hung all over the city. It was also declared in the bulletinsthat those who would gather people to work elsewhere would be heldresponsible for loss of any Turkish lives; and that those who wereaccompanying those convoys would be equally held responsible aswell.

Couple of days later I was passing through one of the streets around

the town hall. Senior Lieutenant Canbolatyan, an Armeniancommander of one of the battalions under my command, was ridingwith me. On seeing couple of Turks reading the bulletins, westopped.

Senior Lieutenant Canbolatyan told the people gathered there inTurkish that the Command Headquarters had taken all the measuresto prevent any Armenian soldier from committing any crimes againstthe civilian Turkish people; and that no harm would be done unlessthe townspeople rose.

In reply to his words they said, the past two years had not witnessed

any rebellion, or any attempt for rebellion; but complained about thetreating of the helpless people with disdain.

I asked Senior Lieutenant Canbolatyan to explain them that I, as theCommander of the Russian Artillery, and all the Russian officers were,are, and would be the defenders of the unarmed civilian Turkishpeople; that we had taken all the measures possible in order to stopall the violence; and that we would immediately voice our requests toour superiors once more.

Most of the people there approved my words saying that they werealready aware of the truth of my words. Meanwhile, three people inthe crowd declared that I had saved their lives on February 7. SeniorLieutenant Canbolatyan was taking part in the activities of theArmenian Committee.

In the second general meeting of the officers, only Dr. Zavriyev waspresent as a foreigner. We declared that the 2nd Fortress ArtilleryRegiment in Erzurum was not an Armenian regiment as theArmenians were eager to see it; that only its troops were Armenians;that none of us had signed any contract to serve the Armenians, northat we had any idea to serve them as mercenaries; that we did notsign any document to serve in the Armenian units; that we did notsign any contract to do so; that it was high time that the government

put forward decisively if the regiment was Russian or Armenian; thatif it were Russian we needed Russian soldiers; that if it were Armenian


31/107

74

the Russian officers who wanted leave should be set free to serve inanother Russian Corps; that those who did not want to serve at theCaucasian Front should be set free disregarding the obstacles put bythe so-called martial law.

In case of Southern Caucasuss separating from Russia, the rumorsabout which had already reached us, and it was highly expected

then, we would leave at once. In such a case we would be aliens inthe Southern Caucasus.

Thus, under the light of the prevailing instructions and orders it wasunderstood that everybody held the right to apply his superior forresignation or for his transfer to Russian Corps. I declared that Iwould not delay any applications that would reach me, and that Iwould immediately sent all the applications to the authorities.

At this meeting, Senior Lieutenant Yermolov from the 7th CaucasusMountain Artillery Battalion, told the officers that he had written apersonal application for his dismissal as he did not want to serve in

an Armenian Battalion; that they, at first, tried to convince him, andupon his decisively declaring that he would not stay whatsoever,Colonel Morel issued a written order stating that Senior Lieutenant Yermolov was an alien, in other words he was a useless anddangerous person as an officer, who was dismissed from his post tobe sent to Front Headquarters; and that he was ordered to leaveErzurum within 24 hours at the latest.

Such was the attitude towards an officer who was holding severaldecorations of war. His rightful refusal of a post in an Armenian unitcompelled Colonel Morel to confess, in his anger, his extreme loyaltytowards the Armenians openly; and as a result he was libeled.

Dr. Zavriyev tried to persuade the Russian officers to the followingterms: by staying in Erzurum the Russian officers were serving theRussian army and serving the Russian interests only, not the Armenian cause; that the Armenian people were strictly bound toRussia; that they would continue their existence with the help ofRussia in the future; Armenians were not in pursuit of breaking upwith Russia whatsoever; Armenian people were a part of the Russianpeople; that the prevailing circumstanced necessitated our staying inErzurum for the economic and political interests of Russia until thesigning of a treaty. He said, being Russian citizens, we did not havethe right to say, You the Armenians and the Turks do what you haveto do! Are you butchering each other? Go ahead and do it! Damn you!


32/107

75

It is your internal affair. We, the Russians, have nothing to do here!morally.

Finally he said, If we, as human beings, really want to put an end tomassacring of the civilians determinedly; then we, with all ourcharacteristics as human beings, should continue to stay in Erzurumto prevent the Armenian mobs from massacring the Muslims in

Erzurum.Doctor Zavriyevs words did not have any repercussions at all. Afterthe meeting he told me that there were no signs of hope and that allthe officers would leave soon.

I found an opportunity to read several documents 10 days after theTurkish forces delivering Erzurum from occupation. In thosedocuments I saw that our suspicions on the declaration of theArmenian autonomy with the help of the Russian officers were notgroundless at all. In those documents Dr. Zavriyev was explicitlytalking about the intentions of establishing an autonomous Armenia.

The document was bearing a much earlier date than Zavriyev comingto Erzurum.

Dr. Zavriyev was not mistaking in his evaluations of the morale stateof the Russian officers. Our intentions of leaving could be seen on ourfaces. It was evident what the Armenians asked for, and why theyneeded the Russian officers.

We were all soldiers, and we did not have any intentions in dealingwith politics. We could never have considered the Armenian partisanengagements as our own.

Antraniks words proved to be nothing more than vain promises.

People did not believe in them. The market places were closed.Everybody was in fear. There was nobody in the streets of the Muslimdistricts of the town. Only one or two shops near the town hall wereopen. Only a few Turks would come together during the day light. NoArmenian was sentenced to death. Armenian plan worked as follows:There are no criminals. Show us the murderer. So we can send himfor trial immediately. How can we punish a person without knowingwho the criminal is?

In spite of the Armenians claims, the Armenians were toldunceasingly that the Russian officers had shown them lots of criminalArmenians who were released without being punished; that finding of

the Armenians sought by the police was not the Russian officers duty;


33/107

76

that if the Armenians were really in pursuit of finding the criminalsthey had the means of finding them in no time.

The Armenian hypocrisy was getting more and more repulsive.Violence directed at the civilian people was not ceasing; they werebeing committed in secret. The Armenians had shifted their activitiesto the near by villages which could not be seen by us. The Turks

living in the villages near the city started to disappear. I do not knowhow and where they disappeared. The people living in the distantvillages started to defend themselves with firearms.

In the city people were being arrested under the pretext of curbing apossible uprising. I inquired Colonel Morel about the extent of thesecurity of the lives of the arrested. I implied, whether the arrestedpeople would be slaughtered like sheep in an organized manner as itwas the case in Erzincan. He replied saying that the arrested leadersof a probable Turkish uprising would be sent to the rear echelons ofthe front, to Tbilisi, in secured convoys; and that some of them wouldbe kept in Erzurum to be used as hostages for a possible uprising.

Reports pertaining to illegal activities of the Armenian logistics unitsstarted to arrive one after another. Fat required by the regimentpersonnel was being refused at the point of transfers. If any demandfor fat was voiced by the electricians battalion, their needs were metin no time, for its non-commissioned officer had once close contactswith Antranik. The Armenian official in charge of the depot did notgive the amount of sugar required by the regiment by claiming thatAntranik had taken the distribution of sugar in his own hands. ThisArmenian official refused to give a written document stating the case.

Russian officers coming to the city from the front, following the

logistics supply lines, were complaining about the lack of food and awarm place to lodge; but they said, the Armenian officers alwaysfound plenty of food to eat and a warm place to lodge on their wayback.

Army Headquarters allocated two wagons to the artillery officers inthe middle of February. Officers sent some of their belongings andtheir families to the rear echelons of the front. Three more wagonswere asked for the transfers of the remaining families andbelongings. Army Headquarters had approved the allocation of thosewagons before its departure from Erzurum.


34/107

77

Following the departure of the Headquarters from Erzurum, theallocation of those wagons was delayed. At last, Colonel Zinkeviwrote a personal petition for the allocation of the wagons.

Upon receiving of this document, an Armenian official, or an officer,who was responsible for the allocation of the wagons, said that theallocation of the wagons would not be possible before two days. He

later promised to tell him when the wagons would be allocated. Infact, the Armenian deserters were occupying the first place in theallocations.

We were afraid to send our families and our belongings with convoyswithout our personal protection, or of Russian protection. Because,the logistics support lines behind the rear echelons of the front werefull of well-armed Armenian deserters and fugitives. Those placeswere not secure at all. Because the Armenians who deserted thebattlegrounds, and ran away from the real soldiers cowardly anddisgracefully, did not hesitate in displaying their unyielding courageand extreme devotion while they were attacking the lonely poorpeople whom they met on the roads may them be elderly, womenor children in groups.

Reinforcement of the units from the rear echelons was extremelyinadequate. The morale of the infantry troops was really low. None ofthe superior officers, or the others in the lower ranks, was obeyingtheir commanders. Before Antraniks coming, the units used to refusetaking their positions in the emplacements. They started going to thefronts recently; but they are fleeing the emplacements in adisgraceful manner. Antranik himself forced them to go back to theirpositions by means of sword and fist. The units where the Russian

officers were kept coercively had all turned into ignoble filthy gangs.I am not sure, but, Antranik might have been someone successful inmilitary matters. The incongruities and the nonsense in his orders,which I used to receive through Colonel Doluhanov, pertainingArtillery units used to take me by surprise frequently.

It was clearly observed that, considering the technical aspects of theissue, disregarding the necessity of the well trained and experiencedpersonnel, qualified low ranking officers, and well trained and stronginfantry units; the future hope of the Armenian units led by Antranikresided in the Russian guns, and I the Russian artillery officers.

Their aim was evident: to form a cover during their escape. In fact ithappened to be so.


35/107

78

Peace talks that were to start in Trabzon were being delayed everyday. It was previously scheduled to start on February 17, then it wasdelayed to February 20, and then to February 25. I was receiving theinformation through either by Erzurum Detachment Headquarters orby the Fortress Headquarters. I was not able to correspond viatelegram. Those two headquarters were situated on the either sides

of the town. The telephone lines of the Fortress Headquarters hardlyever functioned properly. Sometimes, when it worked, it wasimpossible to communicate through the telephone lines as nothingwas heard properly. Therefore, I was compelled to go to the FortressHeadquarters twice a day.

Under the light of the information I received from Colonel Morel andfrom his headquarters I understood that we were not fighting withthe regular Turkish Army at the front; but with the kurdish gangs,and rebellious groups among which were well trained soldiers whoremained in the villages in the region after the withdrawal of theTurkish Army from Erzurum in 1916.

It was thought that those kurdish gangs were set up, and trained byseveral Turkish officers and military personnel in order to enable thelocal people, among whom were soldiers, fight back in their ownself-defense.

It was believed that the attackers had two Russian Mountain Artilleryguns that were left by the Armenian units as they were retreatingfrom Erzincan. The reconnaissance reports suggested that the kurdswould attack from the direction of Famski, Erzincan, and Oltu16. Theirlaunching an attack from the rear echelons of the front, from thedirection of Kars through Palandken was also possible. I do not

know why; but, Colonel Morel was expecting an attack from thedirection of Oltu only.

For me, the reconnaissance activities were being carried outdesultorily by the Armenians. The cavalry units were in pursuit ofmassacres, pillaging, and stealing the live stocks of the villagersrather than performing reconnaissance activities in the villages. Theirreconnaissance reports were frequently erroneous.

Whenever a reconnaissance detachment reported a force of 2.000, itwas always found out to be a force of 200 men only.

16 District affiliated to Erzurum.


36/107

79

And whenever it was reported that a reconnaissance detachment of300-400 men had to perform a breakthrough on the surroundingenemy force, overwhelming their number, it was soon understoodthat the detachments casualties were one dead and one woundedonly.

One day, one of the Armenian officers reported to me on the phone

that a detachment of 400 men had launched an attack on the troopsthat were responsible for keeping the artillery guns. It wasunderstood later that they saw two unarmed men coming from thevillage across, who later had left.

During the period passed between the fleeing of the Armenians fromErzincan and the delivering of Erzurum by the Turkish forces, thereconnaissance units were able to capture only one cavalryman. I didnot see him personally. It is highly probable that this poor mans feetwere either frozen or he was too weak to walk alone without help.

After the second meeting I received several petitions form the

officers requesting their dismissals and transfers to Russian Corps, tothe orders of other commanders, to the units where there weretroops from other nationalities.

I reported to Colonel Morel that leaving of it was highly probable thatmost of the Russian officers, may be all of them, would leaveErzurum. He went red and said that he would not allow it happeneven if it were a decree issued by the Court Martial. I told him thatmy officers still in possession of the guns; that violence would beretaliated by guns; that it would be best to leave relying on thedecree issued by the government as it was legal right of every singleindividual.

I explained Colonel Morel that none of the officers really wanted toleave; that every officer wanted leave just to make use of their legalrights; that there would be no difference between those who had lefttheir positions earlier and us, preferring to continue our legal duties.It was such a complicated situation that conscience and honor ofduty were not permitting us to stay here.

Colonel Morel asserted that there was no legal arrangement made forleaving; that he would give the same employment report he hadgiven to Senior Lieutenant Yermolov to anyone who would attempt toleave.


37/107

80

I told Colonel Doluhanov that there were lots of willing officers inTbilisi and in Batum17, and said it was no good in trying to keep thosewho were eager to leave. Colonel Morel said that he had requestedsending of 60 English artillery officers to his command and that hehad their word.

I heard that they arrested and forced a Russian, possibly a Polish,

citizen, who was working at the Erzurum train station as a chief for aliving, as he wanted to leave his position no matter how much theypaid, while all this talk was proceeding.

I ordered the battalion commanders to gather all the officers aroundthe artillery headquarters, close to them, in order to convey theorders easily and to keep them under a certain organization in caseof an attack that might come up.

Before his leaving Erzurum, I asked from Senior Lieutenant Yermolovto see General Vichenskiy, the Chief-of-Staff of the Army, in Sar kamand to inform him about the conditions we were living in, and do his

best to save us from the miserable position we had fallen into amongthe Armenians. I told him to inform General Gerasimov, the ArtilleryCommander, likewise. Yermolov left Erzurum on February 25.

I believe it was on February 24, when a Turkish airplane conducted areconnaissance flight over Erzurum, which caused me to deduce theidea that the orderly Turkish troops were either in Erzincan or even inMamahatun18.

In those days, Colonel Morel was saying that he had received a proclamation from the Turkish forces requesting the evacuation ofErzurum. After the delivering of Erzurum I had the chance of meetingKzm Bey19, the Commander of the Turkish Corps. At the meeting he

17 Georgian city on the cost of the Black Sea.18 District affiliated to Erzincan. Today, Tercan.19 Kzm (KARABEKR) was born in 1882, Istanbul. He graduated from the MilitaryCollege in 1902 and from the War Academy on 1905. He was appointed as the Chief-of-Staff of the 1st Army and the 6th Army; Commander of the 8th, 2nd, 1st Caucasus,14th, 15th Divisions; and the Commander of the Eastern Front on June 14, 1920respectively. He was appointed as the 1st Army Inspector on October 21, 1923; but ashe was a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), he was given aleave by a special decree dated December 19, 1923. He was elected as the Deputyof Edirne in the 1st and 2nd term; and as the Deputy of stanbul in the 5th and 8th

terms of the TGNA. He served as the president of the TGNA from 1946 to 1948. Hedied on January 25, 1948. He gave numerous seminars and conferences, publishedbooks on military, political, and historical issues, 44 of which were published.


38/107

81

said that the note was not a proclamation but a real letter he, Imean the Commander of the Turkish Corps, personally had written.

Even if we consented to agree the Turkish requests, and regard theletter as an anonymous or illegal letter, Colonel Morel did not havethe right to hide the signature of the commander of the regularTurkish Forces from us and declare the letter as a proclamation.

The information we obtained from the Fortress Headquarters onFebruary 24-25 there was nothing to be worried about at the front.We heard that a detachment sent to the environs of Tekederesi20 hadsurrounded a kurdish gang. It was also said that the troops comingfrom Erzurum had allegedly repulsed the enemy troops by severalvests(1 vest = 1.06 km.) in the outskirts of Ilca.

On February 26, it came to the daylight that the Armeniandetachment sent to Tekederesi from Erzurum was surrounded, thatthey were thoroughly dissolved, that the survivors fled disgracefully,and that the Ilca detachment retreated running.

Colonel Morel, in his verbal order told me to open fire on theattacking Turkish troops; however, there were nobody attackingnowhere. There were panic driven Armenian mobs retreating on theHarput highway in a disorderly manner. There were groups retreatingcalmly along the Trabzon highway just like a convoy in a state ofmobilization without stopping or spreading.

In the afternoon, it was understood that the enemy forces werearound the Gez village21 that was located at a distance of 6 vests tothe city. According to my perceptions there were units of 1.500 men.

The number was unimportant, but they did not look like untrained

kurdish bandits. It was clearly observed that they were well trainedtroops conducted and steered in a highly disciplined manner. Theexistence of several straggling cavalrymen next to them brought tomind that they were roughly organized kurdish detachments ratherthan orderly troops.

Turkish General Staff, Directorate of ATASE. Trkstiklal Harbine Katlan Tmen veDaha st Kademedeki Komutanlarn Biyografileri [The Biographies of the DivisionCommanders and Higher Ranking Generals Who Took Part in the Turkish War ofIndependence]. Ankara: TGS Printing House, 1989. pp. 177-179.20 A village affiliated to Erzurum.21 A village affiliated to Erzurum.


39/107

82

The state and the condition of the retreating troops were very sadand hopeless. They were either spreading along the road as if theywere small liquid chains or coming together every now and then. Itwas evident that fear and anxiety prevailed them. Antranik took thelead of this chain that was gradually melting away. He managed tostraighten the retreating people up; but soon they started dissolving

again in exhaustion.Our artillery fire continued until the evening. It ceased after the fall ofdark. With the launching of defense measures against the kurds, allthe officers were compelled to act gracefully as the circumstances ofwar demanded from honorable officers. Everybody was clearly awareof the fact that retreating at such a point would serve to libeling useternally with cowardice and treachery. We had to resist the attacksat first.

Today, I learned what the Armenian forces understood fromallocation of the artillery units, and from making use of themduring the battle. My guns positioned in the Bykkiremitli fortifiedemplacements were a vest ahead of the infantry units that werestuck in the direction of Harputkap, and refused to go any further toprovide cover for the guns.

Moreover, on the same day, the retreating units not forgetting totake some moveable properties, steal the live stocks of the villagers,and kill the unarmed and innocent people whom they met on theirway attracted my attention, despite the state of fear and panic theywere living through since their departure from Tekederesi.

It seemed that the enemys advance towards the city was unexpected.No orders were issued for battle and organization. It might have been

issued, but I assure you that I did not receive such an order. I onceheard that a scheme was devised for the infantry troops capturingthe main corridors of the city upon the giving of signs of alarm. I didnot receive this order either.

I was to cover the fortified region by artillery fire and to prevent thekurdish forces from penetrating in. In the field, there were theinfantry forces and the mountain artillery guns that were not undermy command.

That day, and the day before, the police was not only gathering themen who were capable of working but the old and disabled Turkish

men as well. When they were asked they used to say they weregathering workers to clean the snow covered rail tracks.


40/107

83

In the evening I learned that one of the Armenian patrols under thecommand of an Armenian cadet tried to break into my house underthe pretext of conducting a search, during the day, despite my namewritten on it. According to what he said he did not know who wasliving in the house. Upon decisive and strong resistance of my landlordthis cadet, this insolent being, uttered the most despicable words to

my spouse, and left without showing any signs of courage for takingmy landlord, who was an elderly Turkish person, and the kurdishpeople who were in my service. The testimony of this cadet revealedthat this absurdity stemmed from the orders Antranik issued.

On learning this, I had a door opened between my apartment and mylandladys apartment so that the elderly landlady could take shelter inmy apartment in case the Armenians come again to take thehousehold away. She complied and had a door opened to myapartment through one of her neighbors.

That night they called me to Antraniks office for a military councilmeeting. I went there together with Captain Joltkevi, the Chief ofMobilization Department and Technical Services. I was taking him toall the meeting I was attending in those days so as to render him asa witness to talks held.

When we arrived at the meeting they had already started. It wasevident that they need not my putting forward my ideas. There were, Antranik, Dr. Zavriyev, Colonel Zinkevi, Colonel Morel, ColonelDoluhanov, and several others at the meeting. Colonel Zinkevi readthe telegram message by the Commander-in-Chief Odichelitz to me.In his message, General Odichelitz was mentioning about VehipPashas, the Commander of the Turkish Army, coded telegram

message, where he informed him about his having given orders to histroops for launching an attack on Erzurum and deliver it. Consequently,General Odichelitz ordered the destruction of all the guns in thereinforced emplacements and withdrawing of all the units.

Antranik had given me a written order on the destruction of thoseguns. General Odichelitz was keeping his promise on thedestruction of the guns, but his orders arrived late. It wasimpossible to destroy some of the gun

I Witnessed and Lived Through (Erzurum 1917-1918) Lt Col Tverdohlebof

Documents

Transcript of I Witnessed and Lived Through (Erzurum 1917-1918) Lt Col Tverdohlebof